


i can't wait to meet you

by remembermyfic



Series: 2019 Snail Mail Advent Calendars [13]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M, wish babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24144898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remembermyfic/pseuds/remembermyfic
Summary: Ryan’s been home from her all girls by week for a total of 15 minutes when her doorbell rings. There’s the sound of wailing from outside and Ryan barely registers it’s Taylor on the other side before a screaming infant is shoved into her arms.“Taylor? What the hell-““I don’t know. I really don’t know, Nuge! But I need a shower and I need sleep and he hasn’t given me five minutes to do either of those things since he showed up on my doorstep.”
Relationships: Jordan Eberle/Taylor Hall/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Series: 2019 Snail Mail Advent Calendars [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564486
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	i can't wait to meet you

**Author's Note:**

> If you know 'em, find the exit button. I'm trustworthy, I promise.

Ryan’s been home from her all girls by week for a total of 15 minutes when her doorbell rings. There’s the sound of wailing from outside and Ryan barely registers it’s Taylor on the other side before a screaming infant is shoved into her arms.

“Taylor? What the hell-“

“I don’t know. I really don’t know, Nuge! But I need a shower and I need sleep and he hasn’t given me five minutes to do either of those things since he showed up on my doorstep.”

The wailing has stopped as the baby watches her curiously, bundled in what looks like the softest blankets Taylor could find.

“You look okay to me,” she says. “Maybe a bit stinky.”

The baby fusses.

“Diaper, huh? Let’s see if Taylor brought you one.”

There’s thankfully a spare in the colorful, yet sparsely packed diaper bag. She has to YouTube changing a diaper, but eventually she lifts up a dry and happy baby. So, she does what Taylor really should have done and calls Jordan.

“You’ll literally never guess what Taylor showed up on my doorstep with…”

It goes like this.

They’re not dating. They couldn’t, not with the team where it is and the Oilers being what they are. They do, however, enjoy hooking up. Sometimes it’s two, sometimes it’s all three of them, but it’s never serious. If they get a little territorial sometimes it’s not a big deal.

It’s just bros.

Except Ryan’s a living cliché and went and caught feelings.

And now there’s a baby, an infant, really, cradled in Jordan’s arms and it’s really not helping in the feelings department.

“Think he even has a crib?” Jordan asks, voice low and amused in ways it should not be given the gravitas of the moment. Ryan’s hoping it just hasn’t sunk in yet.

“Jordan, he might not even have a car seat.”

Jordan finally looks appropriately scandalized. “How did he get him here?”

“I haven’t had the chance to ask.”

“Shit, Ryan.” Then he flinches, probably because he just swore in front of a baby.

“I’m also carefully not thinking about it.”

“Car seat. Crib.” Jordan enters into his phone. “What else.”

When Taylor emerges, they’ve staved off two temper tantrums and changed three diapers. Ryan also has about twenty pictures of Jordan feeding the infant on her phone for those moments she wants to torture herself.

“He’s not crying. You guys are magic.”

Jordan makes a show of sniffing the air. “Maybe he actually can’t stand the smell of you.”

Taylor lifts the collar of his t-shirt and recoils. Then yanks it over his head. It should be illegal to look that good.

“A shower is definitely in order. Nuge do you have those sweats I leant you?”

From her walk of not-so-shame just before bye-week. She had hickies that still hadn’t faded. She also really shouldn’t be thinking about it with Taylor’s infant son not so far away. “Yeah.”

She doesn’t flee. She wouldn’t even call it a close thing. It doesn’t change the relief she feels to get away from Taylor’s broad chest and the image of a baby nestled in Jordan’s arms. She also refuses to say she takes refuge either, even if she does wait a few extra beats between getting the sweats in her hands and heading back to the living room.

“You are a godsend,” Taylor says, gratitude loud in his voice. “Buddy, I’ll be right back.”

“Buddy?” Jordan asks. “You named your wishbaby Buddy?”

“No.” Taylor sounds offended. ”That’s a dumb name for a kid.”

“What did you name him then?”

A feeling of dread floods through Ryan as she watches Taylor’s face.

“I didn’t want to name him without you guys.”

Jordan’s jaw drops. Ryan valiantly resists slamming her head into her palm. “He’s your wishbaby.”

Taylor looks disappointed. “That’s not how this works.”

“So what? We’re co-parenting?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we? Why else would there be a wishbaby?”

Ryan is too stunned to find an effective reply. It gives Taylor enough time to slip away and into the shower. When she does get it together, it’s only enough to turn to Jordan.

“That…”

Jordan swallows so hard that Ryan can watch his throat bob. “He implied it was…”

“But it hasn’t been.” The desperation in her voice is embarrassing, but she’s not sure there’s anything she can do about it. She’s spent years denying anything other than friends with benefits, and here’s Taylor, saying that he wanted a baby so bad that he wished it into existence. A baby with her and Jordan.

Jordan shrugs, and it’s incredibly unconvincing. His gaze is entirely focused on the baby.

“Jordan.”

He still doesn’t look up. Her heart leaps into her throat.

“Jordan.”

It takes too long for him to answer and her stomach churns with it - hope and dread and abject fear. It certainly doesn’t help the way he looks at her, the baby still tucked snugly against his chest.

“Would it be that bad? The three of us?”

Ryan drops to the couch. Jordan waits her out because he’s irritatingly patient. “Is…” She clears her throat. “You’ve been thinking about it?”

“You haven’t?” he replies. “What it would be like not to sneak around, or feel guilty just staying the night?”

“Of course I have,” she answers softly. “Jordan, I- Of course I have.” She sighs. “Of course it wouldn’t be bad.”

“Is it something you want?”

She hates that he sounds apprehensive. Maybe that’s why she moves to join him, a hand just under his on the tiny body of the baby - their baby. She tucks her legs beneath her, curling into him. “I definitely want it.”

Jordan blows out a breath that Ryan thinks should not be quite that full of relief. “Ryan.”

“What?”

When she looks up, Jordan looks shaken. She reaches up, draws him down into a kiss because there’s absolutely nothing else she can do. Her other hand covers his on the baby’s back.

“Did you get started without me?” Taylor’s voice doesn’t startle them apart, but it’s a close thing. “And with the baby right there? You’re going to scar his little baby eyes!”

“It’s true then?” Ryan finds herself asking, brave in the face of her fear. “It’s all three of us?”

Taylor plops on her other side. Both Ryan and Jordan gasp, immediately steadying their tiny son. “Nah, don’t worry. Once he’s down, thankfully he’s down. Not a light sleeper, our kid.”

Ryan shivers. ‘Our kid’.

“It’s not like he came with a note,” Taylor says and reaches out a hand to smooth over the baby’s downy head. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense. Who else would I even think about having a baby with?” 

“It’s a relationship,” Jordan says decisively and saves Ryan a lot of awkward and embarrassed fumbling. “The three of us. Exclusive.” 

“Duh.” And the next thing Ryan knows, she’s being kissed within an inch of her life. It’s worth it to see the same thing happen to Jordan. “It always was.” 

“You can’t just will a relationship to exist,” Jordan says, but the exasperation in the statement is outweighed by the affection in his voice. 

“Don’t make everything complicated, Ebby.” 

Jordan looks pointedly down at the infant on his chest. “You don’t need my help to do that.” 

“Speaking of complications,” Ryan interrupts before it devolves further. “Our kid needs a name.” 

Taylor looks chagrined when Ryan looks at him. “He, uh, needs a lot of things, actually.”

“Name first,” Ryan says with a heavy sigh. “Then we’ll go shopping.” 

“We’re going to need a new place too,” Taylor muses, then his eyes widen like he realized what he’d just said. 

“Names,” Ryan croaks out. She clears her throat. “Then we’ll worry about the rest.” 

“Right, names.” Taylor whips out his phone. “Jack?” 

“Eichel.” 

“Carter?” 

“Hart.” 

“Bartholomew?”

“Absolutely not.” 


End file.
